Golden toad

The golden toad's bright color is unusual for a toad species. However, only male golden toads were this color – females were various shades of green or black.

Discovered in 1966 in western Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest, this emblematic species is often considered the poster child for the amphibian extinction crisis. For years, scientists observed hundreds of toads breeding in temporary pools at the start of the rainy season. In the late 1980s, however, the species began to decline rapidly; the last individual, a solitary male, was seen in May 1989.

The species is now presumed to be extinct. The populations of most other amphibian species in Monteverde have also collapsed, a development thought to be linked to climate change and disease.